The search for a replacement for Earth took a boost recently after astronomers discovered an Earth-like planet which has an atmosphere and this is the first time they have managed to detect an atmosphere. (Science Daily: Atmosphere detected around an Earth-like planet)
Astronomers have detected an atmosphere around the super-Earth planet GJ 1132b. This marks the first detection of an atmosphere around an Earth-like planet other than Earth itself, and thus is a significant step on the path towards the detection of life outside our Solar System. The team that made the discovery, led by Keele University's Dr John Southworth, used the 2.2 m ESO/MPG telescope in Chile to take images of the planet's host star GJ 1132. They were able to measure the slight decrease in brightness as the planet and its atmosphere absorbed some of the starlight while transiting (passing in front of) the host star.
- SD
Note: 'super' has been used to create a plethora of really idiotic portmanteaus and maybe you see why this planet is a called a super-Earth but the Rockhouse doesn't see it.
Ed: it's super because it does not have Donald Trump on it?
That could work.
"With this research, we have taken the first tentative step into studying the atmospheres of smaller, Earth-like, planets. We simulated a range of possible atmospheres for this planet, finding that those rich in water and/or methane would explain the observations of GJ 1132b. The planet is significantly hotter and a bit larger than Earth, so one possibility is that it is a "water world" with an atmosphere of hot steam."
- SD
Ed: it has an atmosphere like hot steam so now it's sounding more like a political planet rather than less
Maybe we could use it for the politicians we don't like so it would be the whole planet version of Australia.
The team used the GROND imager at the 2.2 m ESO/MPG telescope of the European Southern Observatory in Chile to observe the planet simultaneously at seven different wavelength bands spanning the optical and near-infrared. As GJ 1132b is a transiting planet, it passes directly between Earth and its host star every 1.6 days, blocking a small fraction of the star's light. From the amount of light lost, astronomers can deduce the planet's size -- in this case only 1.4 times that of Earth.
- SD
When the planet passes in front of the star every 1.6 days, that must be the length of the planet's year and that would work so well with Donald Trump since then he would be gone before the end of April.
The discovery of this atmosphere is encouraging. Very low-mass stars are extremely common (much more so that Sun-like stars), and are known to host lots of small planets. But they also show a lot of magnetic activity, causing high levels of X-rays and ultraviolet light to be produced which might completely evaporate the planets' atmospheres. However, the properties of GJ 1132b show that an atmosphere can endure this for billion of years without being destroyed. Given the huge number of very low-mass stars and planets, this could mean that the conditions suitable for life are common in the Universe.
- SD
The Rockhouse has long held the theory that life in the Universe probably won't be that hard to find once we get any good at it since the bigger problem will be preventing life rather than creating it ... life will find a way.
Astronomers have detected an atmosphere around the super-Earth planet GJ 1132b. This marks the first detection of an atmosphere around an Earth-like planet other than Earth itself, and thus is a significant step on the path towards the detection of life outside our Solar System. The team that made the discovery, led by Keele University's Dr John Southworth, used the 2.2 m ESO/MPG telescope in Chile to take images of the planet's host star GJ 1132. They were able to measure the slight decrease in brightness as the planet and its atmosphere absorbed some of the starlight while transiting (passing in front of) the host star.
- SD
Note: 'super' has been used to create a plethora of really idiotic portmanteaus and maybe you see why this planet is a called a super-Earth but the Rockhouse doesn't see it.
Ed: it's super because it does not have Donald Trump on it?
That could work.
"With this research, we have taken the first tentative step into studying the atmospheres of smaller, Earth-like, planets. We simulated a range of possible atmospheres for this planet, finding that those rich in water and/or methane would explain the observations of GJ 1132b. The planet is significantly hotter and a bit larger than Earth, so one possibility is that it is a "water world" with an atmosphere of hot steam."
- SD
Ed: it has an atmosphere like hot steam so now it's sounding more like a political planet rather than less
Maybe we could use it for the politicians we don't like so it would be the whole planet version of Australia.
The team used the GROND imager at the 2.2 m ESO/MPG telescope of the European Southern Observatory in Chile to observe the planet simultaneously at seven different wavelength bands spanning the optical and near-infrared. As GJ 1132b is a transiting planet, it passes directly between Earth and its host star every 1.6 days, blocking a small fraction of the star's light. From the amount of light lost, astronomers can deduce the planet's size -- in this case only 1.4 times that of Earth.
- SD
When the planet passes in front of the star every 1.6 days, that must be the length of the planet's year and that would work so well with Donald Trump since then he would be gone before the end of April.
The discovery of this atmosphere is encouraging. Very low-mass stars are extremely common (much more so that Sun-like stars), and are known to host lots of small planets. But they also show a lot of magnetic activity, causing high levels of X-rays and ultraviolet light to be produced which might completely evaporate the planets' atmospheres. However, the properties of GJ 1132b show that an atmosphere can endure this for billion of years without being destroyed. Given the huge number of very low-mass stars and planets, this could mean that the conditions suitable for life are common in the Universe.
- SD
The Rockhouse has long held the theory that life in the Universe probably won't be that hard to find once we get any good at it since the bigger problem will be preventing life rather than creating it ... life will find a way.
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